Massaman Curry...help!!

[C~Q]

Ok so my big mouth has gotten me in trouble...again lol!

I can't seem to stop big noting myself if there is any hint of competition going on I'm not the best cook but of course being me I told my friend that is coming over for dinner tomorrow night, that i'm an awesome cook. I said "what's your fave food, I can cook anything" he said "Massaman Curry".

K, so I need your best recipes or links to recipe pages please! I can google myself but i'd really like to know if anyone has any awesome recipes that they use.

I have considered getting him drunk so he can't really taste it but he's not drinking as he's in training.

So help please!!!!!

[LimeSlice]

Ok, will dig up my recipe and be back...

But make sure you use CHiCKEN not beef - so much better flavour... potatoes, onions and some peanuts - it really is easy, so don't fret BBS.

[mummato1]

I have tried one of the recipes from the taste website, it was ok.. I also saw one pop up on a blog the other day which I havent tried yet. The blog is the 120dollarfoodchallenge and here is the link to the recipe.. not sure if I am allowed to post the link or not (pls remove if not ok)

Day 5

[C~Q]

Thanks guys! LS look forward to seeing it and mumma thanks i'll check it out!

[Junglemum]

For a sensational ridgy didge curry, make your own paste using this recipe.....

This is from Madhur Jaffrey's curry bible..... yum.

Mussaman curry paste

7 dried hot red chilli's (preferably long ones)
1/2teaspoon white pepercorns
1/2t whole cummin seeds
1 teaspoon whole corriander seeds
2 1/2cm cinnamon
140g shallots
1 Tablesppon fresh lemon grass, sliced thinly
5 large cloves of garlic
2 1/2 cm piece of fresh ginger
1 teaspoon of curry powder
1/2 teaspoon shrimp paste- or 3 tinned anchovies.
1/2 teaspoon ground tumeric

Soak chillies in hot water for 1-2hrs
Put peppercorns, cumin seeds, corriander seeds and cinnamon in a small fypan over a medium heat, stir until the spices become fragrent and turn a darker shade.
Empty into a bowl and cool. Once cool grind as finely as possible in a clean coffee grinder or spice grinder. (could use a mortal and pestle)
Put chillies and their liquid in a blender and blend with all remaining ingredients. Blend, pushing sides down until you have a smooth paste.

What you don't use you can freeze.

If that seems a bit hard, go and find a good delicatessen that sell some locally made curry pastes and buy one. A homemade paste makes all the difference imo!

To make the curry..... i'd recommend the one on the taste website. sounds good.

[LimeSlice]

Thai Massaman Chicken Curry

Massaman Paste:
* 10 big dried chilies, roasted, soaked and seeded
* 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns, roasted
* 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, roasted
* 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, roasted
* 2 cloves, roasted
* 2 cardamom pods, roasted
* 1 teaspoon shrimp paste, roasted
* 1/2 teaspoon powdered nutmeg (not roasted)
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon Kaffir lime skin
* 1 teaspoon galangal
* 1 tablespoon coriander roots
* 1 tablespoon lemongrass
* 1/4 cup shallots
* 2 tablespoons garlic

Ingredients:
* 4 tablespoons curry paste
* 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 3-4 chicken thighs
* 1 cup coconut cream + 1 cup coconut milk
* 1 cup potatoes
* 1 cup onions, or peeled whole shallots
* 4 cardamom pods
* 1/4 cup roasted peanuts, whole
* 1 tablespoon palm sugar
* 1" piece of cinnamon stick
* fish sauce to taste


1. Dry roast the dry spices in a pan on medium heat until fragrant, about 2-4 minutes. It’s best to roast each thing one at a time until fragrant. The chilies should be browned. Roast the shrimp paste wrapped in tin foil for a few minutes too.

2. Soak the dried chilies until soft, then take out the seeds and inner bits and chop fine.

3. Pound the paste in a mortar & pestle. Start by grinding up the dried spices until powdered, then set aside. Put the chilies in the mortar and pound until uniformly smashed, then add the rest of the ingredients, starting from hardest and driest and working up to softest at the end. Then add the dried spice powder back in and the shrimp paste. Mix well.
You can use a food processor, just add them all together.

4. Cut the potatoes and onions into bite-sized pieces and wash the chicken.

5. Add the oil to the pan and turn on to medium high. Fry 4 tablespoons of the paste until fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Keep stirring so it doesn’t burn.

6. Add the whole chicken pieces. Fry until the chicken is sealed on the outside, about 2-3 minutes.

7. Add 1 cup of the coconut cream (top part of the can if using canned – don’t shake the can). Simmer until the oil separates, about 2-3 minutes. You’ll see reddish oil starting to float to the top.

8. Add the potatoes, peanuts and onions and the 1 cup of coconut milk. Simmer for a few minutes.

9. Add the cinnamon, cardamom seeds, cassia leaves. Mix well.

10. Simmer (and stir well) until the mixture browns and a good deal of oil comes to the top. About 15-20 minutes. If it gets too dry, add some water. Add the fish sauce, palm sugar and tamarind juice at the end. Taste – you may need to adjust the flavor if it’s not salty or sour enough.

11. Serve with rice or roti. Also is great with ajaat (slightly pickled cucumber salad) on the side.


Love this site, use it whenever I want a real Thai recipe (Real Thai Recipes ) The recipe for the Ajaat is there too...and the Clear Mushroom and lemongrass soup is sooo good!

HTH! And kick some butt lol

[C~Q]

Ok, i'm going to go LS recipe because it's right there and i'm lazy lol! So here are my question (I warn you, I am so dumb when it comes to cooking!)

Dry roast??? Does that mean fry with no oil?
It says each thing one at a time. Does that mean fry one, then take it out and do the next or add to each one?
How do I brown the chillies?
With the shrimp paste do I wrap it up in a ball and roast it???

Ok the rest seems doable lol

How long do you think the whole thing will take?

[Mum2SweetCs]

C~Q if you want a short cut why dont you just go to the asian grocery store (or even coles has it) and get the already made curry pastes. Dry roast some extra spices for that extra "home cooked" taste.

[LimeSlice]

Dry Roast - grab a fry pan and put it on a medium heat, add each ingredient one at a time, and remove it before adding the next. You need to keep the pan moving, so that the spices don't burn. This is something you CANNOT do harder faster better - so don't try upping th heat ;p lol
You will know each spice is done when you get a whiff of frangrence from it at head height.
To brown the chillies, do as above, but they will visibly brown on the outside and shrivel up a bit (you can probably buy dried roasted chillies at the supermarket these days or a spice shop if you have one near you) Just soak them and remove the middle like the recipe says.

With the shrimp paste, get a square of foil and put hte paste in it in a dollop, and wrap it like a parcel, not too tight, and roast it in the pan like that, shouldn't take too long, a couple of mintues, then open it and add it to the mix as per the recipe.

Give yourself a couple of hours, don't stress...and if you get into trouble, let me know.

With the rice, if you aren't confident cooking it by yourself, order it from a thai restaurant and just reheat it in the microwave right beofre you serve lol Won't know the difference...so long as he isn't there when the delivery guy rocks up Do NOT refridgerate it

[C~Q]

Thank you thank you thank you!!!! I'll let you know how it goes

ETA...I don't have a mortar and pestle...how else can I smoosh everything up??

[LimeSlice]

Thank you thank you thank you!!!! I'll let you know how it goes

ETA...I don't have a mortar and pestle...how else can I smoosh everything up??

You got a food processor? Or a blended even will do it...

[Laranna]

If you get really stuck, go to your local Thai restaurant and buy it before he gets there, put it in a big pot on your stove, to pretend you were cooking it and then serve it up all fancy. Don't forget to hide the containers

[C~Q]

If you get really stuck, go to your local Thai restaurant and buy it before he gets there, put it in a big pot on your stove, to pretend you were cooking it and then serve it up all fancy. Don't forget to hide the containers

Loving that idea but now he's coming over at midday!!! I think it's so he can see me do it lol. Yanno what though??? I'm going to get him to help!

LS...I don't have a food processor or a blender

[Mum2SweetCs]

LOL just get the jar thai curry paste. Trust me, they are very nice too!!!

[berrme]

You should stopping bragging, CQ, you are hilarious! Thanks for posting this though, I love massaman, but have never had a recipe.
Can you ask a neighbour for a food processor? In my experience home made pastes are just that bit better than the ones in jars. Of course, if it is today than it might be a bit late for that.

[C~Q]

Ok have started and he's stuck in traffic!!! Could have bloody got a jar and he'd never know loL! Oh well...so have made a good effort and i'm drinking!!!

I'll let you know how it goes